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Care Funding

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have contacted the Health Service Ombudsman regarding their failure to receive continuing care funding for a relative. [111128]

Jacqui Smith: According to the Ombudsman's office, since the publication of the Health Service Ombudsman's report on NHS Funding for Long Term Care on the 20 February, 3,849 people had contacted them by the end of April, either asking for a continuing care complaints form or with inquiries about the report.

Health Services (Hemsworth)

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of chiropody services in the Hemsworth constituency. [109980]

Jacqui Smith: Primary care trusts now have the responsibility for improving the health of the community, securing the provision of high quality services, and integrating health and social care locally. They have the resources to commission services, and to identify the number of professional staff that they need to deliver those services. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of chiropody services.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the availability of digital hearing aids in (a) Hemsworth constituency and (b) West Yorkshire. [109876]

Jacqui Smith: Audiology services in the Hemsworth constituency are provided through the Mid Yorkshire National Health Service Trust, which is not yet providing digital hearing aids through the modernising hearing aid services (MHAS) project. Following the announcement, on 7 February, of an additional £94 million to ensure that all NHS hearing aid services are providing digital hearing aids by April 2005, all trusts not yet involved were invited to indicate the preferred timing for modernisation. Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust has applied for modernisation in 2003–04. A firm timetable for modernisation will be agreed between the trust and the MHAS project management team shortly.

Of the other audiology services in West Yorkshire, Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have been fitting digital hearing aids, as part of MHAS, since 2001. Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust has applied for modernisation in 2003–04 and the audiology department in Airedale has yet to indicate a preferred date. The Royal National Institute for the Deaf has now written to all trusts who have not given a preference for full modernisation and will be pursuing them.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there is a teenage cancer unit which serves young people in the Hemsworth constituency. [109868]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 28 April 2003]: Children's cancer services are provided at the St. James's University Hospital, which is part of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals National Health Service

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Trust. The hospital also houses a specific teenage and adolescent cancer unit, which serves the Hemsworth area.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients waited more than (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) nine months, and (d) 12 months for (i) heart operations, (ii) cancer treatment and (iii) hip replacements in each NHS hospital trust in the Hemsworth constituency in each year since 1997. [109874]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 28 April 2003]: Information relating to waiting list and booked admissions where patients waited more than three months, six months, nine months and 12 months for selected diagnoses and operations in the Hemsworth area is shown in the table.

Number of elective admissions

	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Cancer
>3 months	3,986	4,728	3,845	3,365	3,661
>6 months	1,890	2,382	1,632	1,393	1,624
>9 months	1,115	1,345	788	719	864
>12 months	608	635	336	310	383
Total	33,595	37,531	39,277	35,865	37,291
	Heart diseases
>3 months	4,530	5,306	5,121	5,401	5,330
>6 months	2,792	3,267	2,844	2,998	2,774
>9 months	1,764	2,293	1,747	1,782	1,672
>12 months	1,065	1,153	915	825	671
Total	11,521	12,010	12,664	12,660	12,818
	Heart operations
>3 months	1,777	2,180	2,398	2,700	2,860
>6 months	1,052	1,156	1,163	1,471	1,388
>9 months	577	849	741	949	861
>12 months	354	339	441	467	311
Total	4,035	4,667	5,601	5,845	6,628
	Hip replacement
>3 months	756	889	929	924	983
>6 months	492	572	628	647	656
>9 months	288	372	364	379	404
>12 months	152	198	171	171	167
Total	1,123	1,227	1,278	1,282	1,378

Notes:

Figures in this table have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.

Waiting time statistics from HES are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and waiting times for patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment at a given point in time and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the waiting time as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.

Cancer COO-D48 (ICD 10)

Heart Diseases 100–199 (ICD 10)

Heart Operations K01-K71 (OPCS 4R)

Hip Replacement W37-W39 (OPCS4R)

The Hemsworth area is defined by HA areas QDD Bradford, QDH Leeds, QDQ Wakefield and QDT Calderdale and Kirklees.

Source:

Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Civil Service (People with Disabilities)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in the Department. [110530]

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Mr. Lammy: The current number of senior staff in the Department of Health who have declared disabilities is nine. This represents 2.38 per cent. of the staff in senior posts.

Our target for the year 2004–05 is 3 per cent.

The Department is taking a number of steps to increase the number of people with disabilities in senior posts in the Department:

The use of open competition to provide a wider pool of diverse applicants for senior posts.


Operating the guaranteed interviews under the two ticks scheme for disabled applicants.


Support for a disabled staff network, which reports to the Chief Executive on a regular basis. This group is currently considering potential initiatives for the European Year of Disabled People.


Access to specialist software and other adjustments tailored to the needs of individual members of staff who are disabled.

The Department recently re-surveyed its work force to identify the numbers of disabled staff and is currently represented on a Cabinet Office working group, which is considering disability data collection issues, including non-declaration.

Cystic Fibrosis

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will waive prescription charges for those with cystic fibrosis; and if he will make a statement. [110675]

Mr. Lammy: Our policy is to give priority to helping people who may have difficulty in paying charges, rather than extending the exemption arrangements to people with other medical conditions including cystic fibrosis. We have no plans to change the current charging arrangements.

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to screen new born babies for cystic fibrosis; and if he will make a statement. [110676]

Jacqui Smith: In April 2001, the Government announced their intention to implement a new national programme for neonatal cystic fibrosis screening. Work commissioned by the Department of Health to plan for the national provision of cystic fibrosis screening using the Guthrie Bloodspot card will be considered by the UK National Screening Committee who will look at costs, feasibility, timetables and links to antenatal programmes.

Dental Care (Prisoners)

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each prison the average waiting time to see a dentist for prisoners (a) experiencing dental pain and (b) requiring a routine appointment. [111107]

Jacqui Smith: Those prisoners experiencing dental pain receive treatment without delay, where necessary accessing outside services. Information about routine dental treatment is not comprehensively available. For specific treatments, prisons report waiting times of between one and 55 days.

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